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Richard Nixon
Richard Milhouse Nixon (January 9, 1913 – April 22, 1994) was the thirty-seventh President of the United States from 1969 until 1974 and was the only U.S. President to resign the office. Before becoming President he was a notorious Redbaiter, distorting his Liberal opponents voting records to imply that they were secret Communists or Communist sympathizers. He worked on the House UnAmerican Activities Committee until he was elected Senator from California. He was selected to be the running mate of Dwight D. Eisenhower, the Republican nominee for President in 1952. Nixon became Vice President in 1953 and served until 1961. He also ran unsuccessfully in 1960 for president, losing to John F. Kennedy and unsuccessfully ran for Governor of California in 1962. Following these losses, Nixon announced his retirement from politics. This was either a lie or he changed his mind as in 1968 he ran again for president of the United States and was sadly elected. Vice President One of the youngest Vice Presidents, Nixon loyally served Eisenhower for eight years from 1953 to 1961. While traveling through Venezuela in 1958, several Venezuelans threw rocks at his VP limousine. While Nixon escaped unharmed, the attack on Nixon's car was called, at the time, the "most violent attack ever perpetrated on a high American official while on foreign soil". Nixon proved he wasn't scared of the Russians when he boldly debated Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev in a Moscow trade fair on July 24, 1959. Called the Kitchen Debate, Nixon debated capitalism vs communism with Khrushchev. The debate took place in an exhibit that was filled with labor-saving and recreational devices meant to represent the fruits of the capitalist American consumer market. The debate was recorded on color videotape and Nixon made reference to this fact; it was subsequently rebroadcast in both countries. In 1960, his election team used the footage to show that he was tough on the communists. 1960 election When the 1960 election came around, Nixon felt it was his time for the White House. Playing on his service as Vice President and basically saying voting for him was voting for a third Eisenhower term, Nixon was confident he'd win. He made a stupid pledge to visit all 50 states, which sapped his strength, one of the few advantages he had over the unhealthy Kennedy. During the election, the infamously-clumsy Nixon busted his knee on a car door...and was hospitalized with an infection for two weeks. One other notch against Nixon was his poor press relations. The press loved Kennedy, but they didn't like Nixon. He did make an attempt though, as poor as it was. He had some press reporters gather at a hotel pool. He appeared at the pool, waved at them, jumped in, got out, waved and then went back to his hotel room. That was Nixon Press Relations... What Nixon did have going for him, besides his experience and link to the Eisenhower administration, Was THAT he was a Protestant (specifically a Quaker). Kennedy was Roman Catholic and in 1960, anti-Catholic bigotry was at an all-time high. Facing no opposition, Nixon easily won the Republican nomination, choosing then UN ambassador Henry Cabot Lodge as his running mate. He started off the general election at the RNC by saying "When Mr. Khrushchev says our grandchildren will live under communism, let us say, his grandchildren will live in freedom." Nixon hoped he could pulverize his Democratic opposition, Senator John F. Kennedy, in the first televised presidential debates. The debate was to be held at the CBS studio in Chicago on September 26, 1960. But Nixon made one mistake after another. Hours before the debate, Nixon had tried to rally a carpenters' union, which sapped more of his strength. Kennedy meanwhile was relaxing at a pool, conserving his energy. When Nixon arrived at the studio, he once again hit his knee on the car door. Already nervous and anxious, he now arrived in pain. While Kennedy disappeared to get makeup applied, Nixon had an assistant go to a drug store to buy him some after-shave for 70¢. Kennedy looked young, rested and calm. Nixon looked disheveled, awkward and nervous. After Kennedy made his opening argument, Nixon said he basically agreed with what Kennedy said he wanted for America but disagreed that the Eisenhower administration had gone slow or nowhere. Those who watched the debates on television sided with Kennedy while radio listeners sided with Nixon. There were three more debates but many say the first debate decided the election. Nixon didn't give up. When Martin Luther King Jr was arrested in Georgia after a sit-in, Nixon jumped at the opportunity to become a civil rights hero. The fact that Nixon was willing to shake hands with black people, and later let Sammy Davis Jr hug him, proves that while he was corrupt, he wasn't a racist. Nixon was actually a friend of MLK while Vice President. This being before the 1960s party alignment shift, Nixon believed he had the support of black folks. On October 19, 1960, three weeks before the election, Reverend King and 50 other black folks were arrested after refusing to leave their seats at whites-only department store lunch counters. In an attempt to sweep the black vote by securing King's release, Nixon called the White House. The Eisenhower administration refused to cooperate. Meanwhile, the Kennedys beat Nixon to the punch. JFK called Mrs. King and offered his support while his brother Bobby made phone calls pressuring for Kennedy's release. The release caused MLK's father, Martin Luther King Senior, who originally supported Nixon simply because Kennedy was Catholic, to switch his vote to Kennedy. A major shift of black votes went towards Kennedy. During the last few weeks of the election, Nixon called on his old boss Dwight D. Eisenhower to support him. Eisenhower was beloved by Americans. On November 2, 1960, 6 days before the election, Ike and Dick held a massive parade. Ticker tape littered the streets and covered the two men as they waved at crowds. There was a surge for Nixon. Nixon and his wife submitted their votes in California then decided to wait out the election in Mexico. He was gloomy, somehow predicting he was gonna lose. So he downed his anxiety with margaritas. Even though Nixon won more states than Kennedy (26-22), including the usually crucial swing-states of Ohio and Florida, Kennedy got 303 electoral votes to Nixon's 219. The popular vote was closer. Kennedy got 49.72% to Nixon's 49.55%, less than half of a percent. Kennedy had beaten Nixon by the slimmest of margins. Although there were unconfirmed reports of electoral fraud by the Kennedy campaign, Nixon refused to contest the election. Watergate Scandal There was a whole load of dirty tricks when Nixon was re-elected which got to be called, 'Watergate' and involved the break-in and bugging. While Nixon wasn't involved in the beginning, he covered it up when he realized it might help him win re-election in 1972. He was caught. The most common phrase in regards to Watergate is "Follow the money", from Deep Throat to reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein of The Washington Post. He could not have used Deep Throat as a cover in the 21st Century's childish social media today... Nixon as president Nixon is the only Republican president to have been actually prosecuted, or have an attempted prosecution made against him. While he was corrupt, he did make some good achievements Good *Introduced the EPA *Lowered the voting age to 18 (26th Amendment) *SALT Treaty signed with the Soviet Union *Pursued reforms in welfare, healthcare, civil rights, energy, and environmental policy *Title IX *Expanded Medicare *Had a plan to mandate employers giving health insurance as well as created government subsidies for self-employed/unemployed people *He was humble in his 1960 defeat *Ended the draft *Decimated 70% of the national debt. *Started the war on cancer. Controversial *opened relations with China *Nixon Shock Bad *Introduced HMOs *Covered up the Watergate break-in *Committed obstruction of justice *Had a drinking problem by the time he resigned *Believed homosexuality brought down the Roman Empire *Lied under oath *Illegal wiretapping of government buildings without court authorization *Extremely corrupt, involved in dirty politics *Was kinda racist, probably sexist and definitely anti-Semitic *Was extremely paranoid *Was involved in the McCarthy Trials *Instigated the 1973 Chilean coup d'état *The Bombing of Cambodia *Needlessly extending the conflict in Vietnam to get elected in 1968 *Sabotaged the Paris Peace talks over Vietnam *Persecuted anti-war protesters *Instituted wage and price controls *One of the most authoritarian Presidents we’ve ever had until Bush Jr and Trump *Nearly impeached, but resigned and was then pardoned for his numerous crimes Resignations During his second term in 1973, his Vice President Spiro Agnew resigned after criminal charges of Bribery, Tax evasion and money laundering from his term as Governor of Maryland. This showed the corruption of the Nixon administration and foreshadowed the news leak of the Watergate scandal. Nixon appointed Gerald Ford as Vice President as according to the 25th Amendment. According to him, he was not a crook. During his State of the Union address of January 30, 1974, after basically bragging of his accomplishments, Nixon called for an end to the Watergate investigations. After "Deep Throat"'s revelations of Nixon's corruption, Nixon learned the House of Representatives was beginning the impeachment process against him. Knowing he was doomed, he announced his resignation from office on August 8, 1974, resigning the next day. His successor, Gerald Ford, gave him an unconditional pardon for partisan reasons. Gallery Nixon resigns as President.jpg|The glorious day Nixon resigned as President to escape Impeachment _20160123_132317.JPG|Proof that he lies. _20160123_132342.JPG References *.The History Place, Impeachment of Richard Nixon For anyone wanting to learn about Watergate this is well worth reading. Category:Corruption Category:Neo-Conservatives Category:Conservative Failure Category:People Who Suck Category:American People Category:US Senators Category:American Presidents Category:Presidents Category:Liars Category:Conservative Deceit Category:People who break the law Category:People Category:Criminals Category:Military Category:Vice Presidents Category:Anti-communists Category:US Representatives